Windows 10 S vs Windows 10 Pro: A Detailed Comparison

Microsoft recently unveiled the Windows 10 S, described as a mere stripped back version of the Windows 10 Pro OS. The Windows 10 S is intended to challenge the ChromeOS, Google's budget-friendly operating system.

The new operating system was unveiled at the same time as the Microsoft Surface Laptop. The two actually goes hand in hand as both products are affordable and aimed at students. The new Microsoft OS is actually the third one ever created by the company. The two others are the Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Pro. As Reviewed noted, the Home version is likely on the way out with the Windows 10 S a suitable replacement.

Being a simplified version of the Windows 10 does not necessarily mean that the Windows 10 S does not match up with the Pro version. In fact, the Windows 10 S has its advantages over the other.

For one, the Windows 10 S is faster than the Windows 10 Pro. The new OS only needs 15 seconds to boot thanks to its minimal hardware configurations. Also, the Windows 10 S is more secure when it comes to installing apps. Simply put, Windows 10 S users don't have to worry about viruses. Users can only install apps from the Windows Store which means every app in its arsenal is assured by Microsoft as secure. Some of the popular apps available at the Windows Store are Microsoft Office, Photoshop Elements, Facebook, and many others. As Forbes noted,

The new Microsoft OS also allows better battery life compared to the Pro version. According to Microsoft, the Surface Laptop can last up to 14.5 hours on one charge. Another good thing about the Windows 10 S is that it will come with a number of impressive features such as Mobile Device Management, BitLocker, Windows Update business edition, and Azure Active Directory. If these features sound familiar, it's because they come from the Windows 10 Pro. In fact, the Windows 10 S is actually built from the core of the Windows 10 Pro.

One advantage that Windows 10 has over the newbie is that the latter comes without some features such as Hyper-V virtualization and Widows Subsystem for Linux. Additionally, users cannot play Steam on Windows 10 S. This means, the Windows 10 S and the Surface Laptop are not for serious gamers. However, there are popular games that can be played on Windows 10 S such as Minecraft and Halo Wars 2.